Summer seems to be upon us here in Arizona, even though I think spring only officially got started a couple of weeks ago. So, with temps in the 90s, and our grill performing its usual work-horse duties, I wanted a side that could herald summer. Spring is fleeting. Summer, well that just seems to go on forever.

I have my faithful stand-by recipes, but I like to experiment early in the season to find out if there’s anything worth making for upcoming picnics, get-togethers with friends, etc. And I’m always enticed by oft-overlooked veggies. Like the jicama, for instance. You can find them in pretty much any grocery store, but it’s rare you see recipes calling for this uber-nutritious, fibrous root veggie. And I’m surprised it took me this long to think of it as perfect for cole slaw. The flavor and texture are spot on – crisp and sweet, somewhere between a water chestnut and a pear. The jicama’s flavor is enhanced by the lime and doesn’t give way to sogginess when the dressing is applied.

If you’ve looking for a change of pace from a traditional mayo-based slaw, this one is perfect. It’s tangy, zesty, and perfectly fresh for summer. Enjoy!

Combine first three ingredients in a medium bowl, tossing well. Set aside. t

Whisk together lime juice, EVOO, sugar, salt, and black pepper.

Pour dressing over slaw mixture and toss well to coat.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

***Cook’s Notes: I was in time-saving mode, so I grabbed a bag of pre-shredded cabbage in the produce aisle. Turns out it was the angel hair variety, so a bit too flimsy for my taste, but worked fine. Next time I’ll either shred my own or make sure I buy a thicker shred.

Labor Day weekend is fast approaching and we’re having guests for dinner, so I’m experimenting with some new salads. This one hit the spot. It’s picnic or barbecue perfect, has great flavor, texture, appearance, and goes together super fast. The original recipe called for an English Cucumber, but the ones in the store were so enormous I opted for a package of mini cucumbers, instead. I actually think they were more colorful, too; the green being brighter and more cheerful. Because a cheerful salad is a delicious salad, right?

Adapt as you please. With the exception of the delicious dressing (lime juice and a little brown sugar) this isn’t one of those stuffy recipes where a minor change will make any difference in the finished product. Enjoy…and have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

***Cook’s Notes: The peanuts make this a salad you either have to finish the day you make it, or eat any leftovers within a day. They don’t hold up well refrigerated and stored in the dressing. So eat it all up, or make sure you eat the remaining salad within 24 hours.

I’m not one who feels compelled to serve a starch at every meal. I’d rather double my serving of veggies or add a hearty side salad. I might even throw some cooked rice or lentils into a salad to beef it up a bit. But my eaters enjoy their side dishes and I’m easily bored by potatoes. The poor Irish. I don’t know what I would have done. Really? Potatoes? Again?

Since I had a flank steak on the grill and my green beans were cleaned and stemmed, I only needed a few minutes to throw this together right before the meat came off to rest. You can cook your pasta ahead since it’s combined later with the hot ingredients to re-warm it. I especially enjoyed this as a side because it was anything but “potato boring.” There are a lot of flavors swirling around in this pasta – from heady garlic and parsley to the sweetness of basil and cherry tomatoes. I think it would be great adapted to a cold pasta salad, as well, to make it perfect for any end-of-summer picnics you might have on calendar. Enjoy!

***Cook’s Notes: Don’t cook your garlic for 4 minutes. It’ll be scorched beyond belief and your pasta will be ruined. Keep a close eye on it and throw in the tomatoes when it becomes fragrant, not brown. Also, it’s super easy to over cook a tomato, too. The recipe says cook for one minute, but I’d say less. You still have to return the pasta to the dish and re-warm, which will be plenty of time for the tomatoes to heat through. The original recipe called for regular pasta. I substituted whole wheat to boost fiber and protein.

What should you do when you’re having a small 4th of July gathering (3 adults, and a child who wouldn’t touch cabbage with a ten foot pole)? Why, make 3 pounds of coleslaw, of course. Actually, I had the foresight to cut this recipe in half, but it still makes a ton. And, frankly, while I prefer a vinegar-based slaw, I don’t think they keep as well. So, serve it to a lot of people and eat it all.

With that said, this was a really tasty recipe and I’d definitely make it again. It had great texture and a nice variety of flavors. I opted to use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar, which is a little more subtle in flavor. Not too vinegar-y. The onions gave it a nice little kick, too. I served it as a side dish, but this would be great on pulled pork or shredded beef sandwiches, as well. Easy-peasy! Enjoy!!

In a large bowl toss the green cabbage, red cabbage, and red onion until mixed. Set aside.

In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, honey, and oil. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, dry mustard, and the celery seed. Pour the dressing over the cabbage. Toss to combine. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

This post really needs to start with a confession: I did not make this dish. I bought the ingredients, but I had absolutely nothing to do with the assembly. Not that I don’t want to take credit for it. It was superb. But I was off-duty enjoying a lovely, chore-free Mother’s Day. The husband and the world’s greatest kid put this together as part of a truly relaxing, enjoyable day for moi! No cooking, no dishes, re-fills on wine, plentiful hugs. It was all good!

Including this pasta salad, which should go on every picnic menu you put together from now until you can’t eat another pickled banana pepper. It deviated wonderfully from the all-too-predictable pasta salad of yesteryear: tomatoes, broccoli, green onions, yada yada yada, slathered in Kraft Italian Dressing. Don’t make that one again. Make this one. Great flavors from sweet to savory, great textures from crisp and crunchy to smooth and creamy. When I tried it, Kat asked what I thought and I blurted out, “It’s like a fiesta in your mouth!” I’ll probably regret that later, but at the time it caused endless giggles and was a spot on description.

I know there are a lot of food purists out there who will say this is a travesty; the bastardization of the Caprese Salad. Yes, there is balsamic vinegar which some say you would never find on a Caprese Salad in Italy. And yes, I served it as a side dish as opposed to a starter as they would in, you guessed it…Italy.

Alas, we are not in Italy. We are in the United States of America and here? Here, I put balsamic on my Caprese Salad and serve it as a side dish. Except there’s one, minor detail. This isn’t really Caprese salad. Because it also has minced garlic and chopped onion. So, there. Take that, Italy. It’s a side salad!

Don’t get me wrong. I love me some Caprese Salad. It’s the most tantalizing starter at any summer meal. But this version is basically a balsamic marinade, and the added onion and garlic gives you an added kick in the taste buds. It really was very, very good. Lots of robust flavor with the same summer freshness of the purist’s Caprese Salad. Keep this recipe on hand for summer weekends where you’re not hosting a formal sit down meal with several courses. This has summer picnics and barbecues written all over it, especially if you’re invited to a summer meal where you’re asked to bring a dish to pass. Make it ahead and let the flavors mingle. It’s all good. Enjoy!

I love cabbage. There are people out there who need to be convinced, cajoled, tricked into eating cabbage. I’m not one of those people. On any given day, I probably have cabbage in my veggie crisper. In the summer it morphs into slaws and salads. In the fall it takes the form of soups and stews. But the other day I was looking for a vegetable side dish and came across this recipe (which seems to be making the rounds on Pinterest). If you’re so inclined, you can follow my pin boards there, too.

But, I digress. Anyway, I saw this recipe and had to give it a try. It originated at MarthaStewart.com and, despite my eye-rolling at all things Martha Stewart, I do concede she employs a lot of really talented and inspired people (No, Martha, I don’t believe you come up with all these amazing things on your own). I used the remnants of a head of Napa cabbage I’d used for a salad recently and, admittedly, I don’t think it held together as well as green cabbage might have. But it was simple and delicious and made for what I thought to be a perfect vegetable for a cool, fall evening dinner. Roasting veggies mellows their flavor so nicely, and that held true for the cabbage. The caraway seeds were the perfect burst of savory flavor, too.

The original recipe says to roast for 40 to 45 minutes, but the Napa cabbage may be a more delicate cabbage. I pulled it at about 37 minutes and it was quite done. It might even have come out a handful of minutes earlier, so watch it closely at the end of your cook time. Enjoy!

I’m not a huge fan of coleslaw drenched in mayonnaise, preferring something a little lighter with a vinegar base. Throw in some Granny Smith apple slices and I believe that might be the perfect slaw. But uber-healthy coleslaw just doesn’t fit the bill when it comes to pulled pork or shredded beef sandwiches. You really need something more traditional – roadside diner-ish traditional.

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Honestly, there are hundreds of good slaw recipes out there, so it’s not that hard to find something to please everyone. But my husband thought this one was The. Best. Ever. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, with slightly fewer calories and fat because it uses Miracle Whip as a base rather than mayo. If you use the “Light” option, you can trim a few more calories and fat grams from the finished product. And, even though I’m a true-blue healthy coleslaw lover, sometimes you just gotta live a little.

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We use this on hot dogs, brats, pulled pork, and most recently the slow-cooker shredded beef. While it’s a great topping, it’s perfect for a summer picnic side dish, as well. Enjoy!

Coleslaw is a classic summer side, and one I don’t care much for when served in the typical drippy, heavy, mayonnaise-y way. I liked this recipe for a number of reasons: low cal, no fat, lots of flavor!

The original recipe, found in Cook’s Illustrated Healthy Kitchen, suggested salting the cabbage ahead of time to draw out some of the water that naturally dilutes coleslaw once cabbage is cut and allowed to sit. This took a bit of the crunch out of the cabbage, but it wasn’t watery. The cabbage was more the consistency of “pickle-crisp.”

The crunch the cabbage lost in the salting was gained back by the addition of crisp, tart Granny Smith apple slices. The cider vinegar adds a nice sweet, pungent flavor and, of course, some complimentary heat from the crushed red pepper.

There are so many great flavors going on in this recipe it should please even the most ardent mayo fan. It might even make a convert out of them. Note, however, like most dressed salads, this doesn’t keep well. Eat within a day or two, at most. Enjoy!

Toss the cabbage with the salt in a colander and let sit until wilted, about 1 hour. Rinse the cabbage under cold water, drain, and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Toss the dried cabbage, apples, and scallions together in a large bowl to combine.

Bring the vinegar, oil, honey, mustard, and red pepper flakes to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour the warm dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until the flavors have blended, about 1 hour.

Isn’t summer all about homegrown tomatoes and garden-fresh herbs? I mean, I’d be hard pressed to ever grow tired of tomatoes chopped into salads or drizzled with balsamic over Buffalo mozzarella, but I’m not opposed to using the season’s bounty in new and unique ways.

I pulled this recipe from the June issue of Cooking Light; enticed by the variety of savory flavors, the textures, the colors, and the opportunity to use a few garden-fresh ingredients. The cornmeal dough is easy-peasy to whip up, rolled out nicely, and created a beautiful crust. Despite the fact I baked it on a really hot and muggy day, the galette was refreshing even warm from the oven. The only thing I’d suggest is cutting down on the 1/4 tsp of salt the recipe has added to the tomatoes prior to baking. I generally don’t salt tomatoes before I eat them and I found the finished product a little on the salty side for my taste. Other than that, it’s an elegant but rustic addition to a meal, or served as an appetizer with a glass of wine before dinner. Enjoy!

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor; process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly add ice water through food chute, and process just until combined (do not form a ball). Gently press the mixture into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 425°.

3. Unwrap dough, and roll dough into a 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on top of dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Fold edges of dough over tomatoes to partially cover. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, and sprinkle with basil. Cut into 8 wedges and serve.